Take a stroll through the lobby of Chedoke Arena on the Mountain and you'll stumble upon a good part of the story of Hamilton hockey. Photos of many of the who's who of local shinny hang on the walls, from the black-and-white-and-goalies-without-masks era right up to the present. Or at least, reasonably close to the present.

It's incomplete to be sure. And this gallery is sadly unknown to most people in town, except those who happen to stumble upon it.

Which helps explain why the Hamilton Huskies Hall of Fame was launched on Tuesday.

"Our city is underrated for its hockey history," Huskies' general manager Mike Spadafora says. "One of the main reasons we're doing this today is we're trying to correct that."

Good. It's a solid idea that was long overdue.

At the risk of being somewhat repetitive, this has been a big year for local hockey players. A record number of them made it to the NHL this season. A record 22 local kids were drafted into the Ontario Hockey League a few weeks ago. Laura Fortino won gold at the Olympics. Lauren Wildfang won gold at the world under-18 championship. Greg Carey was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, headlining a number of area kids starring in the NCAA.

Which is all fantastic, but may obscure the fact that our hockey history didn't just start this year or last. It goes way back. Those dozens of old pictures tell of a city that's done OK on the ice over the years. Better than that, actually.

So finding a way to honour some of these folks — the inaugural class includes Dave Andreychuk (player), Harry Fotheringham (builder), 1991 Huskies Midget AAA squad (team) and Harry Howell (special hockey award) — is a solid first step to enshrining their achievements in a real way.

Plenty more will hear their names called in future inductions, too. Over its 42 years, the Huskies' organization has produced many big names that are now on its alumni roster. Guys who've gone on to pro careers in the NHL and elsewhere. Players whose names you probably know but your kids might not, so creating a way to preserve their memories is vital.

It's a nice touch. And since it was the Huskies' executive that came up with the concept and saw it through to the news conference announcing its formation, it's not hard to understand why it's called the Hamilton Huskies Hall of Fame.

Still, it's impossible not to believe this concept would resonate with a vastly larger swath of the population and become far more prestigious if the name was shortened to simply the Hamilton Hockey Hall of Fame.

For people in Ancaster, Stoney Creek, Dundas, Flamborough and all the other suburbs that aren't included in the Huskies' catchment area — population bases, in other words, that have provided a heavy percentage of the next wave of local stars — this presently stands as an idea that will mean little and will be ignored. That's a shame since it's clearly not the intent.

The proof is right there. Howell never wore the organization's colours yet he's being inducted. This shows this new hall is open to inducting non-Huskies. Spadafora says as much and points to an ongoing category — the Special Hockey Award that was used to induct Howell — as evidence.

"The thought was to have a hall of fame that could honour all of Hamilton as well as the Huskies," he says.

When it comes right down to it, the Huskies started the project and they can call it whatever they like, just as they can induct whoever they choose.

But one small wording change would greatly broaden the appeal of this effort. And would take this from a really solid concept for which the Huskies folks should get a firm pat on the back, to a great one that an entire city's hockey-playing population could get behind.